Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia occupies most of the Arabian peninsula and contains the Rub al-Khali, the largest continuous sand desert in the world, a sea of dunes of more than half a million square kilometres and virtually uninhabited. To the west, the Asir escarpment rises above the Red Sea and captures enough moisture to sustain juniper and acacia woodland, farming terraces and a fauna of African affinity with hamadryas baboons, striped hyenas and birds from the Horn of Africa. The interior alternates hamadas, basalt lava fields and wadis that carry water only after storms. The Red Sea coast is one of the most extensive reef areas on the planet, with corals, dugongs, sharks and turtles, and the Farasan Islands protect seagrass meadows and gazelles of their own.